Vanderbilt’s quarterback battle is still wide open, and Clark Lea isn’t ruling out a two-man solution if the situation drags into Week One.
Speaking Tuesday morning at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Lea said he could lean on multiple quarterbacks against Austin Peay if he hasn’t settled on a full-time starter by the opener. He made clear the staff will keep sorting through the competition all the way through camp.
“For sure,” Lea said in regard to the idea that he could play both quarterbacks. “We will do whatever winning demands of us.
We have a talented group with different skillsets and I’m not shut off to any possibility. I think you have to have one person you lean on in the tough moments, but how you best put 11 people on the field and enhance and optimize the skills they have to help in a winning effort, that’s the goal.”
The Commodores’ quarterback room includes five-star freshman Jared Curtis, veteran Blaze Berlowitz, sophomore Jack Elliott and junior Whit Muschamp. Lea did not name a starter at Media Days, and the competition is expected to continue through camp before the staff trims the field.
That cut could come down to two quarterbacks around the middle of fall camp, with Curtis and Berlowitz viewed as the leading candidates. Berlowitz brings the most experience in Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s system, but his career résumé is still limited: 36 pass attempts overall, including 17 at Vanderbilt in 2025 and 19 at New Mexico State.
Curtis is the high-profile name in the mix. Lea called him the best player in the 2026 high school class when he signed with Vanderbilt and has compared parts of his game to former Vanderbilt star Jay Cutler and NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. Lea said the talent is there, but Curtis still needs to make progress in processing.
Even so, Curtis looks like Vanderbilt’s quarterback of the future. The question now is whether he’ll be sharing snaps with Berlowitz right away.
“We've been evaluating it through the summer,” Lea said. “Certainly you can see a world where two guys are taking snaps.
I don't see that in a world where they're sharing the quarterback position. I see that where we're strategically using skill sets to bolster certain aspects of our performance on offense.”
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